Sunny Connies

19032012

Not a very newsy post this time but I got these photos back from my last trip with Richard to the Coniston area of the Lakes and really like the colours on them so this is mainly a photo post. We had really nice weather for a change and the ‘dead’ vegetation really shone that day – I think the golds have come out brilliantly (and not tinkered with at all as I don’t really like doing that) – possibly the ‘warmth’ of film photography? I like to think so anyway 🙂

Richard and I set out in good weather with microspikes as we could see there was some snow near the summit of the mountain and we were planning to go up the north route – partly to see if we could find some fun on some ice. It turned out we never actually used our spikes (although for a few minutes near the very top on hard ice, I was wavering about donning mine in true coward fashion) but in the end, it hardly seemed worth it.

The only drawback of the walk was the horrific windchill we found on the summit ridge. Despite having a fleece hat on, by the time we’d got halfway along to the next fell, Brim Fell, I had a completely frozen section of head and Richard, despite having a beard, could stand the pain in his face no longer so we hurried to Brim Fell’s summit and then baled out down the west side as quick as we could – we’d originally planned the whole ridge along to Swirl How.

Anyway, enough of the yapping – here’s the pics 😉

One of Richard’s to start – a nice rainbow to herald the rain clearing and the start of a great day (from our pub accommodation window) – this one is the only digital shot…

Approaching Low Water (above) and looking back round (below)

Looking back down to the village and the only bit of cloud we really saw:

As I said earlier, it was way too cold on the summit ridge so the next one was looking back at our hill when we’d descended back to the warm again:

The Boo Tarn Route (not the quarry road on the right – to the left of the gill)

Not an actual tarn but just the flood in the carpark – must have been flooded a long time when you look at the reed growth!

Information

8 responses

Nice pictures Carol.Got a lovely lemon feel to them that you get with low pre spring sunshine on old faded grass.First time I,d been down to Coppermines was last year. I,m Keen to see it in summer next time I,m down.

I actually like that colour that we generally have all winter in the Lakes much better than seeing snow all the time as I find everything just looks black and white then and gets a bit boring (although I acknowledge it can be fun to play in when it’s in perfect condition). I think it’s a lovely, comforting warm colour for the hills.

It was horrific on the ridge! The only other time I’ve had such bad wind chill, I think, was on the day I walked out from the Tarf Hotel over Beinn Dearg and that apparently was -20 windchill. But the Connies Ridge is often cold – that and Skiddaw. I think it’s the north/south running ridges of the Lakes.